HIV and Aids: Compassion and Action The statistics are staggering; 33 million people are living with HIV, there are 2.5 million new infections every year and around 15 million children have lost their parents as a result of the disease. This is a disease that can affect any person, in any country, in any community. Yet despite its widespread prevalence it is a disease that is still shrouded in stigma and discrimination. "I always feel it is not HIV that is killing us, it is the stigma attached to it, and the ignorance of the people." said Faghmeda Miller, the first Muslim woman in South Africa to disclose her HIV-positive status. "People are still being judged for the way they contracted HIV". Office http://www.islamic-relief.org/ Available upon request Citation Islamic Relief Worldwide (2008), Partnership (Winter 2008, Issue 33)